A Simple Gift
by iMmoRtaLfrEnD704
Summary: Temari stays longer than expected thanks to Gaara. Gaara wants Temari to stay for a star festival. Shikamaru has to guide her around for the rest of the day. ShikaTema oneshot.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Neither does Lil Enchantress, so it's okay!**

**A/N:** This is dedicated to Lil Enchantress! You're so pwnsome! Thanks for always commenting on my work! I wish I could glomp you, but then you'd be squished and that would be…bad. So, instead, here's a ShikaTema one-shot! Thanks again for making me a TenKan one-shot!

**Published March 27, 2007**

**A Simple Gift**

'Damn it.' Temari cursed in her head. 'Why does he have to be such a genius?!' She thought frustratingly. 'Fine.' Temari picked up a shogi piece, her last kinsho (gold general), and placed it on square diagonally forward to the right.

Shikamaru placed his kyosha (lance) two squares forward. "Checkmate." He said monotonously.

Temari rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She stood up from the ground and wiped the invisible dust off of her clothes. "See ya."

"W-Where are you going?" Shikamaru stuttered in surprise and a little awkwardness. He started to blush realizing how he sounded, but held it in well.

Temari stretched her arms out in the air. "Oh yeah. I forgot to tell you, I'm going to the Hokage's office. There's some scroll or something I'm supposed to pick up before I go back to Suna. It's boring stuff; you probably wouldn't want to go." Temari said, reminding Shikamaru of his laziness.

Shikamaru sighed. "As much as that is true, and as troublesome as it is, I _have_ to follow you until you leave." He notified. "I forgot to tell you as well." He shrugged.

Temari folded her arms and looked at Shikamaru questionably. "You forgot or were just too lazy to tell me?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "Eh. Both."

Temari sighed. "How predictable." She rolled her eyes again. "Well, let's go then! Hurry up!" she ordered Shikamaru.

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"Great, just great…" Temari sarcastically as she read the scroll Tsunade gave her. She sat down on the bench outside of the Hokage's office, next to Shikamaru.

Shikamaru sighed. "What is it now?"

"I'm staying here tonight for some festival. Looks like you have to follow me around even more…" Temari informed.

'Festival? That's the--' Shikamaru thought.

"Do you know anything about Tanabata festival?" Temari asked, interrupting Shikamaru's thinking.

"Y-You don't know about it?" Shikamaru looked slightly surprised at Temari.

"Of course, I know about it. I just wanted to have an intimate conversation with you." Temari said with much sarcastic-ness.

"A simple no would've done just fine, troublesome woman." Shikamaru replied.

"Who cares? Just tell me what the heck this festival is about." Temari commanded.

"It's a star festival. The festival celebrates the meeting of Orihime and Hikoboshi. A river of stars that crosses the sky, or the Milky Way, separates these lovers, and they are allowed to meet only once a year, which is the seventh day of the seventh month. Orihime and Hikoboshi come from an old folktale. They are actually two stars, Vega and Altair." Shikamaru explained.

"Well, _you _seem to know a lot about this stuff." Temari looked at Shikamaru cleverly with a slightest bit of smirk curving.

"I'm a genius, remember?" Shikamaru mumbled, reminding Temari of his overused nickname.

"I guess you really are. Well, now I see why Gaara wanted me to stay for the festival." Temari said.

"Why?" Shikamaru said.

"I thought you were a genius? Can't you figure it out?" Temari mocked.

"Even geniuses don't know everything." Shikamaru countered slyly.

"It's pretty obvious." Temari smirked. "It's a star festival. If you were ever paying attention, you should be able to figure out that I like stars."

"You like stars?" Shikamaru asked.

"Duh!" Temari looked at Shikamaru curiously. "Did you think I watched clouds all day like you? No way. Suna's too hot to have clouds, so I watch stars." She shrugged as she sighed. "I guess I have a hobby for watching the sky as well." Temari admitted. "I can't believe you never notice though." She said with the smallest hint of disappointment in her voice.

"I only notice the important things." Shikamaru react a little too quickly.

"What?" Temari said. 'What is _that_ supposed to mean?' She thought with a disastrous mixture of hurt and anger.

"N-No. I-I didn't me-ean it l-like that."

"I'm not important to you?!" Temari shouted in front of Shikamaru. "I mean, I know we're not what'd you call 'best buddies', but I thought we were at least acquaintances!" She continued to shout. "But I guess it would be 'too troublesome' to think of _me_, a _Suna_ girl, a friend, right?" Temari's eyes were close to watering, but were overpowered with anger.

Shikamaru stared blankly at Temari, not knowing how to respond.

"That's what I thought." Temari said. She quickly stood up stiffly from the bench. She stomped off outside of the Hokage's building and headed to the building she was supposed to stay at.

Shikamaru shook his head vigorously once Temari was out of sight. "Today isn't going very well…" He said aloud. 'I guess I have to follow her…' Shikamaru remembered. He stood up from the bench slowly and walked to the building Temari usually stayed at.

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Shikamaru knocked on the door. "Temari?"

Temari opened the door, shut the door, and stayed…silent. She started walking towards the exit to the streets.

"Temari?" Shikamaru tried to get her attention as he followed behind her, out of the building.

Temari kept walking.

'The silent treatment.' Shikamaru thought. He sighed out loud. "I'm sorry."

Temari kept walking.

'I already said sorry. What else does she want?' Shikamaru thought.

Temari muttered something under her breath.

Shikamaru ran to catch up to Temari. "Did you say something?" He said, trying to speak to her face.

"You just can't say sorry and think everything is alright." Temari gritted through her teeth.

Shikamaru's eyes widened. He sighed in his head, 'She's right.' "Yeah…you're right." He forced himself to say. 'If she doesn't forgive me, I'm going to have this guilt in me forever…_and_ Temari's not going to talk. As much as I'd hate to admit it, I like it when she talks.'

Temari stopped walking. She pointed to the streets filled with lights.

"Hmm? What?" Shikamaru looked at the lit-up streets filled with happy children and many couples.

"Over there are your _friends_ right?" Temari said quietly. "You should go with them." She advised.

"Hmm?" Shikamaru looked closer into the crowd of people and saw that, indeed, his close academy rookies were wandering around.

Suddenly, Shikamaru was spotted by every one of his friends.

"Hey! Shikamaru!" Ino waved, running over to Shikamaru.

"Huh? Shikamaru!" Chouji said. He followed Ino.

Everyone else ran to Shikamaru and greeted him with cheerful faces.

"Shikamaru! Took you long enough." Ino put her hands on her hips. "Hi, Temari." Ino waved politely.

Temari waved back courteously.

"Come on, Shikamaru! I'm so close to winning the big prizes at the fishing booth!" Naruto said.

"Yeah, right! Shikamaru, come on! Watch me beat Naruto at fishing!" Kiba said.

Naruto and Kiba pulled Shikamaru away into a crowd of people.

"Wait. Temar--" Shikamaru began to say, but Kiba and Naruto kept pulling him away anyways.

Temari turned around, not wanting to listen to whatever Shikamaru had to say. 'Whatever. I'm better off by myself anyways.' She decided.

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'It's already been an hour. I wonder how Temari's doing.' Shikamaru thought.

"Come on Shikamaru! My sister could do better than you!" Kiba mocked.

"Hey!" Kiba's sister said angrily from three booths away.

"Heh…it's true!" Kiba said.

Shikamaru yawned. "I'm kind of tired. I think I'll start heading back now." He said, thought he just wanted to check on Temari.

"What? The night's still young!" Kiba said.

"Yeah! There's still so much stuff to do!" Naruto said.

"You know what…maybe someone wants to be with his _girlfriend_." Ino said, raising her eyebrows deviously.

"What? No way. I don't have a girlfriend." Shikamaru denied.

"Whatever! You are _so_ in denial!" Sakura input. "But that's fine. You can go hang with your lover while the rest of us _single_ people have some fun." Sakura raised her fist in the air. "Whoo!"

"Hmmm…" Shikamaru said.

"Yeah, I think she's drunk too." Kiba mumbled.

"No doubt she got it from Granny-Tsunade." Naruto muttered. "Sakura! Let's go get some ramen!"

"Yeah! Sure! I could use some good gin." Sakura said.

"I said ramen." Naruto said.

"Yeah, good gin." Sakura repeated what she thought Naruto had said.

While Naruto and Sakura were having their conversation, Shikamaru thought it'd be the perfect time to slip away and check on her friend.

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'Where would Temari be?' Shikamaru asked himself. He looked around the streets but couldn't seem to find Temari anywhere. 'Temari would be at the most quiet part of the streets…near the park.'

Shikamaru quickened his pace slightly, just enough, so nobody would notice the lazy ninja being out-of-character.

Of course, at the park, was Temari, exactly where Shikamaru thought she would be.

Temari was sitting on a bench, looking up at the stars, daydreaming, but she still had her guard up.

From Shikamaru's view, he could see Temari's face reflecting the moon's white light. 'Watching the stars as usual. I guess there's no better time to give her it.' Shikamaru thought. He started walking closer to Temari.

"What?" Temari said sharply with her head still gazing the stars.

"Temari…" Shikamaru said quietly. "Umm…here." He stuck his arm out with a small object in his hand.

Temari looked down. She took the trinket and laid it in her palm. 'It's…a…' She looked at the gift longer. "What do you want me to do with _this_?" She spoke quietly.

Shikamaru scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Well, ummm, I guess you can _wear_ it." He said trying not to sound like the genius he was.

"I don't wear jewelry." Temari said.

'Why didn't I think of that? Of course she doesn't wear jewelry. It would just get in the way of fighting.' Shikamaru thought. 'Stupid, stupid, stupid.'

"But thank you…" Temari said quietly.

"What did you say?" Shikamaru gave Temari a surprised look.

"Thank you?" Temari said, looking questionably confused, wondering if she had said something different before.

"But…what about before?" Shikamaru asked.

"What _about_ before?" Temari said as if she didn't know what happened before.

"Ummm…nothing." Shikamaru lied. 'I guess it's better if I don't bring it up.'

"I like stars…so thanks for caring." Temari explained.

"You know I didn't mean what I said before. I wa--" Shikamaru tried to apologize.

"No need to explain yourself, crybaby. I know you aren't _always_ a genius." Temari chuckled a little. "Like giving me this. You should have known that jewelry's not my thing." Temari dropped the item back into Shikamaru's hand. "I didn't think I'd have to tell you that. But I also didn't think that you'd go out and buy me a star bracelet. It even has moons around it. Cute." Temari commented.

"You can keep it. I can't return it anyways." Shikamaru made up an excuse.

"Well, I have no use for it. I'm not going to wear it." Temari said.

"Then keep it in Suna or something. Keep it in a jewelry box." Shikamaru suggested.

"I'm not going to buy a jewelry box to put only one bracelet in it." Temari said.

"Maybe I'll buy you a jewelry box for your birthday." Shikamaru said.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Temari chuckled.

"Why not?" Shikamaru asked confused.

"You'll have to get me a present every year after that. Now _that_ will be _troublesome_." Temari pointed out.

Shikamaru shrugged. "Eh. Some things are worth the trouble."

"Hmph. You say that _now_…we'll see about that later." Temari snickered.

Shikamaru sighed. "You have to ruin the moment, you troublesome woman?"

"Hey, it's what I do." Temari said simply.

**The End**

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**A/N:** It took so long to get the ending right. I can't really get a romantic ending to anything. I had most of this finished about a month before I actually published it. Darn endings just get to me! Well, thanks Lil Enchantress, for getting me on my lazy butt, I think!


End file.
